Out-of-pocket health costs skyrocketing

Our health care crisis isn’t solely about the 50 million Americans without health insurance. More and more of us with health insurance can’t afford the out-of-pocket costs we are charged for care. In fact, 62 percent of all bankruptcies filed in 2007 were due in part to medical expenses, and 78 percent of those individuals had insurance. Not surprisingly, if we don’t enact reform, at least half of American households will need to spend more than 45 percent of their income to buy health insurance just seven years from now.
We deserve access to affordable health care and if we continue without help from Congress, fewer and fewer will be able to get the care we need. We must guarantee everyone has fair access to affordable coverage.
Danny DeTora, Citrus Heights